CSR Conclave to Debate Outcome-Linked Spending Rules

India's annual corporate social responsibility spending has crossed ₹30,000 crore, and the question of whether that money is delivering measurable results is the subject of a two-day conference near Bengaluru starting July 16.

The second edition of the CSR Conclave, organized by the One World One Family Mission and media-partnered by The Hindu businessline, will gather policymakers, corporate leaders, and regulators at Sathya Sai Grama in Muddenahalli. The theme is 'Reforming CSR for a Viksit Bharat.'

The timing matters. CSR spending under the Companies Act is now in its second decade, and companies are moving beyond the compliance mindset toward trying to prove social impact, according to organizers. The conclave's four panel sessions are designed around that shift.

One panel will ask whether the Social Stock Exchange can become a real platform for deploying CSR funds and scaling social enterprises. Another session will look at how the Indian diaspora could complement domestic CSR through structured philanthropy. A third panel will debate impact measurement, ratings, and governance standards for social outcomes. The final discussion will take up whether CSR investments should be evaluated through measurable economic and developmental returns.

The inaugural session features former TCS CEO S. Ramadorai, who chairs the conclave, Vineet Nayar of Sampark Foundation, and Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai, founder of the One World One Family Mission. A white paper with recommendations for strengthening India's CSR ecosystem will be released.

Representatives from SEBI, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, Allcargo Logistics, Azim Premji Investments, Karkinos Healthcare, the Gates Foundation, IndianOil, Tata Hitachi, HSBC India, and Volvo Group India are among those attending.

The first day ends with the Viksit Bharat CSR Leadership Awards and a networking dinner. The conclave closes with a summary of the deliberations.